With our new baby arriving soon and so many people away over the summer we have decided to let this newsletter cover January as well.
We finally got our chickens last weekend, Bella and Rose. One is a Sussex and the other a Barred rock.  We are going to be using their manure to put lots [...]

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There is no denying that Natural Stone Paving is the most beautiful, evocative and soulful material in which to clad the ground we walk on. Afterall it is the very stuff our Mother Earth, is made from.  Cobbled streets of Europe and South America and flagstone patios of heritage gardens are just a couple of [...]

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There is a huge interest now in the ancient ways of healing through herbs. Here are a few of the ways people cured themselves in the home from their gardens.
Bergamot and catnip were very useful taken as teas with sage added as an extra for any aches and strains.
Acne, just as much a problem then [...]

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Last season a number of gardeners lost potato and tomato crops to an insect called the potato psyllid which releases a toxin into the plants and causes the young potatoes or tomatoes not to grow much larger than a marble. My suggested treatment is a combination of Neem Tree Granules and sprays of Neem Tree [...]

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Sunlight brightens the paved streets and historic buildings of Havana, Cuba, bouncing off the tents of vendors and the tin drums of a street band. Once stricken by poverty and inequality, the city has slowly blossomed as a result of the bustling enterprise of urban agriculture. Between buildings and behind street walls, in every green [...]

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We’re on the count down to spring folks, on hindsight, winter doesn’t seem to have been that bad this year.  Maybe it just that I’m on an uncontrollable high at the moment.  We’ve just moved into our dream home, hence the lateness of the newsletter being sent out, sorry.  The garden comes complete with a [...]

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It may be midwinter, but the Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust is urging all butterfly gardeners to think about spring, and the most royal of butterflies, the Monarch.
“Earlier this year many gardeners were upset that their caterpillars were dying,” said Jacqui Knight, Secretary of the Trust. “People run out of milkweed (swan plant), and buy [...]

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It is likely at this time that the roses are in an in-between state of losing foliage as they go into dormancy for the winter months. Some may still have flowers and buds, and if you have not removed them, they will have seed pods which are called ‘rose hips’.
These rose hips will contain seeds [...]

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This winter has been wetter and colder than any we have had for some time. For us gardeners it is a matter of doing our best to keep plants alive and the gardens in reasonable shape while chaffing at the bit.
Wet feet
One of the worst problems is saturated soil which is a problem for [...]

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Potential to slash world greenhouse gas emissions
The first significant change in internal pump design has been patented by New Fluid Technologies and will be on display at the SPLASH! New Zealand Trade Show on July 29 and July 30 at the Auckland Hilton.
This global launch will showcase a pump using an entirely new concept called [...]

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